


bright ( forever)

by Dramaqueendeluxe



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Bobby was a good friend fight me, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, M/M, alex is bad at talking about feelings, he just lost a lot, reggie just wants pizza, so is Luke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 06:00:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29005698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dramaqueendeluxe/pseuds/Dramaqueendeluxe
Summary: “ What the hell are you talking about? I’m always here, writing lyrics and melodies because I want this band to go somewhere”“ No, you want a chance to make heart eyes at Julie, which shouldn’t come as a surprise”“ What’s that supposed to mean? At least Julie didn’t sell us to an underworld ghost club where we could been trapped forever”“ Oh just shut up already”, Alex usually has kind blue eyes but right now they’re lethal and cold.In which sometimes you need to fight to be bright
Relationships: Alex Mercer & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters, Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Bobby | Trevor Wilson & Alex Mercer
Comments: 2
Kudos: 75





	bright ( forever)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sometimes I think I'm falling down  
I wanna cry, I'm calling out  
For one more try to feel alive  
And when I feel lost and alone  
I know that I can make it home  
Fight through the dark and find the spark

It starts at practice.  
No, no that’s wrong.

It starts the moment their demo gets played in their old studio and they somehow turn up as ghosts. You know, can’t eat or sleep, can’t touch anything, invisible to humans. Well most humans. 

Julie Molina can see them and together they build Julie and the Phantoms. They can perform for people and their music is loved. 

And here is where it starts. 

And rise through the night, you and I  
We will fight to shine together, bright forever  
And rise through the night, you and I  
We will fight to shine together, bright forever

Alexander Mercer has been anxious since he was a kid. Always fidgeting with something, always moving, never resting. His brain never shuts up and it makes him quiet. Until that day in fifth grade when he meets Bobby Wilson. Alex’s family just moved to Los Angeles and Bobby is supposed to show him around school. He’s nice and apparently popular, kids staring after them in the hallways. Bobby talks about the teachers, the cafeteria and his best friends. Luke and Reggie. Together they have a band and all they need now is a drummer. 

“ I know how to drum”, Alex admits weakly when Bobby takes a breath. He looks shocked.

“ Then you’re totally sitting with us at lunch, come on”, Bobby answers and it’s makes Alex heart swell.

This could actually be where it starts. Four boys all dreaming about making it big in the music industry. One blond boy and one brunette boy getting closer and closer. 

Alex tells Luke about his anxiety and Luke writes him a song. Tells him that now he will always have something to remind himself with, that he is just as strong and valid as the rest of them. 

In times that I doubted myself  
I felt like I needed somе help  
Stuck in my head with nothing left  
I feel somеthing around me now  
So unclear, lifting me out  
I found the ground I'm marching on  
Life is a risk, but we will take it  
Close my eyes and jump  
Together, I think that we can make it  
C'mon let's run

They get older and Luke drops out of school, Reggie runs away from his fighting parents and Alex tells his dad that his son is gay. They spend their days practicing in Bobbys garage and their nights crying over their families.

Then they die.

Young, cold and alone. 

The universe gives them a second chance. 

They are dead and then they’re ghosts and they almost lose Julie and they do lose their music ( Alex will sometimes wonder what could have happened that turned Bobby into Trevor) ( his family died, his brain will helpfully supply)

Caleb almost tricks them, Nick almost dies, Willie almost leaves and there are just too many almosts for the situation to be okay. 

Here is where it starts.

They’re at practice. Alex is behind his drumkit, Reggie won’t stop staring at his bass and Luke and Julie won’t stop staring at each other. And then Alex misses a beat. 

Luke stops playing which makes Reggie stop playing and that makes Julie stop singing and Alex stops hitting his drums and it’s silent. 

“ What’s going on with you man?”, Luke asks a little irritated and Reggie groans beside him.

“ Me?”, Alex shoots back, defensive.

“ Yeah, you, you’re playing like”, Luke cuts himself off with a wince and Alex snarls. Reggie grows a little pale and Julie looks scared between them. Electricity is filling the studio.

“ Playing like what?”, Alex demands and Luke squirms a little. 

“ Oh come on, don’t be shy Luke, tell me what you really think”, he continues and his subconscious is confused by the sudden confidence.

“ It’s just, I don’t know, it doesn’t feel like you’re really focused on this song and the rest of us are really trying but you’re just out with Willie all the time”, Luke finally admits and Reggie sighs before sitting down on the sofa. He knows that this won’t end well. Julie follows and sits close close close. 

“ Out with Willie?? I’ve seen him maybe two times this week Luke, the rest I’ve been spending here in the studio. You’re the one whose not here”, Alex grits out and Luke puffs his chest in frustration.

“ What the hell are you talking about? I’m always here, writing lyrics and melodies because I want this band to go somewhere”

“ No, you want a chance to make heart eyes at Julie, which shouldn’t come as a surprise”

“ What’s that supposed to mean? At least Julie didn’t sell us to an underworld ghost club where we could been trapped forever”

“ Oh just shut up already”, Alex usually has kind blue eyes but right now they’re lethal and cold.

“ No, you wanted to have this conversation”, Luke presses on and Alex snaps.

“ You gave Bright to Julie!”, he shouts.  
“ You gave her MY song and you didn’t even ask me or tell me, you just gave it away the first chance you got. You didn’t care when my anxiety got bad and I had to leave to not break down because you were too busy thinking about Julie. I come back with answers about the afterlife and you shut me out so you can keep writing your song TO JULIE. A song that didn’t even have drums in it because Julie doesn’t play drums and if it isn’t about Julie then it doesn’t matter, right?”, Alex has never shouted like this before. Luke stills looks pissed off, Reggie looks a little scared and Julie looks guilty.

“ You keep hounding me about Willie and how I shouldn’t spend time with him even if he makes me happy because it’s not band related and it’s not Luke related and it’s not Julie related. How dare you judge me for going after someone I care about when you time after time has chosen a girl you known for a couple of months over your childhood best friend! Do you even know anything about Willie other then that he knew Caleb? Do you have any idea about what I’ve been up to when I haven’t been here? What Reggie has been doing? No because you don’t care. You’re so wrapped up in being the lead singer that you forget that I don’t exist just to give you a backup beat. I’m bright. Screw you”, he finishes and then poofs out, leaving behind three shell shocked people. 

The museum that Willie dragged him to the first time they met is quiet and still.

Here, Alex can hear his heart beating so fast that just the thought of it makes him nauseous. His brain is running wild and it takes a whole lot of will power to not break down.

In times that I doubted myself  
I felt like I needed some help  
Stuck in my head with nothing left  
And when I feel lost and alone

The future is scary on so many levels and Alex feels like everything is just slipping trough his fingers. He has no control over anything anymore.

He has no idea where his family is, how they reacted to his demise and he has no clue about what happened to his sisters. Bobby betrayed them and still Alex can’t help but to miss his old friend so much that it aches in his bones. Bobby was his first friend in Cali and his first ever best friend and he never imagined that they would ever grow apart. But the universe is twisted and mean and it had other plans.

Now Bobby is millionaire musician Trevor Wilson who lives on his band mates songs, Luke is devoting all his time to Julie, Reggie keeps acting like nothing is wrong and Alex is sitting in an abandoned museum, trying not to cry.

I know that I can make it home  
Fight through the dark and find the spark

Someone poofs in behind him and he sighs. 

“ Leave me alone Reggie", he bites out, sure that his puppy like friend followed him. 

“ And if I’m not Reggie?”, a voice asks. Willie.

If someone were to ask later he would refer to allergies or talk about what a long day he had. But right now he breaks. And Willie rushes forwards, sits close but not too close and takes one of Alex shaking hands into his. Alex lays his head carefully on Willies shoulder and cries. Small sobs ripples trough his body, Willie starts drawing lazy patterns on his back with his free hand. 

“ Shh it’s okay, you’re okay, everything is okay. I promise, just try to take a deep breath for me alright?”, Willie comforts and Alex tries his best to take a few shaky breaths. 

“ You wanna tell me about it hotdog?”, he continues and Alex huffs out a laugh. 

“ Luke gave this old sunset curve song to Julie so she could get back to her music program. And I’m really happy for her because it worked and she seems happier now and Luke also seems happier so I should be happy myself but..”, he trails of awkwardly. 

“ Buuut”, Willie prompts while still holding his hands.

“ Luke wrote that song for me. When I first told him about my anxiety, he wrote that song for me and he told me that I would never be alone and that I would never be unloved and I wish he never did any of it because he didn’t mean it and now he’s flirting around with Julie and putting her over everybody else and I’m just stuck. Oh oh and he and Julie wrote a song without drums so that was fun”, Alex bites out and then wipes a few tears that still wanna make an appearance.

Willie looks at him shocked. 

“ Do you think you’re unloved?”, he asks in a small voice. 

“ I don’t know, maybe, I mean I haven’t really been feeling like that many people still care”, Alex admits tiredly. 

“ I care. I always cared about you Alex and I always will. You’re the best thing that happened to me since I became a ghost. You’re important”, Willies voice is strong now. 

” You mean that?”

” Always”

And rise (rise) through the night (throught the night), you and I (you and I)  
We will fight to shine together (we will shine together) bright forever (bright forever)  
And rise (rise) through the night (throught the night), you and I (you and I)

Eventually he poofs back to the studio. Willie came with him as support and he’s gripping Willies hand hard enough that it has to hurt.

His friends are huddled up together on the couch, Reggie is looking pissed off while Luke and Julie are looking guilty. Reggies head snaps to them when they poof in.

“ Alex, thank god”!, he exclaims and bounces up to meet Alex in an embrace. Alex chuckles weakly but hugs back anyway. 

“ And Willie, hey dude”, Reggie and Willie do a weird handshake and then the garage is quiet. 

“ Okay guys seriously, this band is not gonna work if I have to be the emotionally mature one! Alex, Luke has something he wants to say, and Luke, maybe try listening better this time instead of just defending yourself”, Reggie snaps and then pulls Julie and Willie out of the garage. 

“ Sooo”, Alex begins awkwardly. 

“ I’m sorry”, Luke finally admits.

“ Yeah?”

“ Yeah, I was really excited over the chance of getting to play more music and getting to fulfill or dream and along the way I forgot why it was our dream”, he continues.

“ And why was that?”, Alex asks even tough he knows the answer.

“ Because we did it together. My family, your family, Reggies family. School and douchebags and nights sleeping on a couch, we went trough all that together. I should never have made you feel insignificant and I should never have given away a song like that without checking with you. You’re my best friend,I love you and I’m sorry”, Luke’s voice cracks and Alex feels a tear running down his own cheek.

“ I forgive you”, he whispers and then they’re hugging. 

The others soon rush in and join their hug. Julie apologizes for herself and Alex reassures her that they’re fine. 

We will fight to shine together (we will shine together), bright forever


End file.
